Stucco planning arrangement

ABSTRACT

A spray foam rasp tool for the forming of base-line grooves for the subsequent flattening of a rough spray of foam on a building. The tool comprises an elongated, extruded handle having an elongated, work-facing, planar surface. The elongated handle has a longitudinal axis. A plurality of blade receiving grooves are arranged in a spaced-apart pattern in the work-facing planar surface. A scraping blade is arranged in each of said receiving grooves to permit a rough coat of spray foam on a building to be readily grooved both plum vertically and horizontally for subsequent planning into a flat, smooth plum surface configuration. Adjacent blades are non-parallel with respect to one another.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a tool for clearing and defining a base cut for subsequent smoothing and planning of rough vertical surfaces of wall building foam material such as stucco.

2. Prior Art

Stucco is a construction material which has been utilized on homes and other buildings for many years. Stucco is typically applied on the side of a building by manual application and smoothing with a hand tool, or by spraying and subsequent smoothing by a trowel while wet and readily manipulable.

This foam application process however, leads to an uneven surface with scraping or tool marks left behind by the applicator. Such applications may also leave uneven or thin areas of stucco material on the side of a building which is unattractive to look at in its applied form.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and tool arrangement which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art for stucco spray foam finishing of wall surfaces.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an easily hand manipulable tool which provides clean, straight, grooves or channel-like cuts onto a rough surface of spray foam material on the sidewall of a building, to provide “plum” vertical and horizontal base-line guidance, for the subsequent use of a planning tool on that still rough spray foam surface after the initial guide cuts have been made.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a straight edged rasp or cutter tool which permits the simple and accurate cutting of a spray foam material from one portion of a grid on a wall to another portion of a grid on a wall being treated.

It is still yet a further object of the present invention to provide a tool which will accurately and evenly provide a guide-cut onto a surface right up to an inside or outside edge of a corner.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises a “spray foam” smoothening rasp or cutter arrangement to permit establishment of proper “plum” vertical grooves and horizontal grooves on which to base subsequent removal of excess material from the sidewall of a building by a planer tool. Such sidewall material is, for example, a spray foam of insulation.

The rasp tool of the present invention in one preferred embodiment, thereof, is comprised of an elongated handle of extruded aluminum having for example, a length of about six to a preferred limit of about seven feet. The elongated extrusion has a longitudinal axis extending therethrough. The rasp tool has an elongated work-facing surface onto which a plurality of angularly spaced-apart, preferably non-parallel grooves are arranged. Each of those grooves are adapted to slidably receive a scraper blade therewithin. Each groove and blade is preferably disposed at an angle of between 95 to 120 degrees with respect to the longitudinal axis of the rasp tool and an adjacent blade in a complimentary angle is disposed at an angle of between 60-85 degrees with that longitudinal axis.

Each blade is preferably frictionally gripped within its groove and has an overhang beyond each side face of the rasp tool. Such overhang or extension of each blade is approximately one quarter of an inch.

In a first embodiment of each respective blade, the shape of the blade in a side view would be shown in a rectangular configuration. That is, the sharp razor edge would be straight along its distalmost edge. A further embodiment of that blade comprises its distalmost edge having a generally curved or somewhat semicircular configuration so as to cut out a semicircular path when used in a longitudinally directed cut in raw spray foam. A still further embodiment of the distal cutting edge of a blade for the present rasp tool invention, will comprise a cutting edge of a “corner shape” so as to cut a V-shaped channel in a spray foam pattern on a sidewall of a building.

The rasp tool of the present invention have a may plurality of bubble levels arranged thereon. Such a bubble level arrangement in one configuration is preferably in parallel alignment with the longitudinal axis of the rasp tool. Another bubble would be in transverse alignment with respect to the longitudinal axis of the rasp tool. A further bubble level would be arranged at an angle between 30 and 60 degrees with respect to the longitudinal axis of the rasp tool.

Such a rasp tool of the present invention is particularly useful for providing narrow (about 1″ wide) vertical ‘plum’ grooves and narrow horizontally arranged groves in the rough spray foam from the edges and large planar areas of a building. After the initial grid of vertical and horizontally disposed grooves are formed to the desired proper depth in the rough stucco foam material, a planer tool, as identified in my earlier U.S. Pat. No. 6,354,009, incorporated herein by reference, may then be utilized to plane the entire surface to the proper depth as established by the vertical and horizontal grooved grid pattern in the spray foam material. The average area to be planed at one time would be approximately 8′×10′. Such a first embodiment of the rasp tool would cut a square shaped groove or channel in the rough stucco foam when the rasp tool is moved longitudinally. When the raw spray foam is placed adjacent a window frame or doorframe, or an inside corner or an outside corner or the like, the overhanging blades permit a clean cut right up to that frame edge.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, an elongated shaft may be arranged within a central elongated opening of the rasp tool. That elongated shaft may be spring biased in one direction, the shaft having a plurality of tabs thereon so as to snugly engage each respective blade in place and hold it secure thereto. When changing a blade, the spring biased shaft may be shifted longitudinally so as to release the pressure on each respective blade from the respective blade biasing tabs, to permit each dulled blade to be slid out of its respective groove and replaced with a new blade. The invention thus comprises a spray foam rasp tool for the trimming and proper establishment of base “grooves” of a rough spray of foam, comprising: an elongated, extruded handle having an elongated, work-facing, planar surface, the elongated handle having a longitudinal axis; a plurality of blade receiving grooves arranged in a spaced-apart pattern in the work-facing planar surface; and a scraping blade arranged in each of the receiving grooves to permit a rough coat of spray foam on a building to be subsequently scraped into a orthogonal grid of grooves for subsequent flat, planar surface configuration treatment by a motorized surface planer.

Adjacent blade receiving grooves are preferably arranged non-parallel to one another. The grooves are preferably arranged at an angle of between 95 to 120 degrees with respect to the longitudinal axis of the handle. The handle has a pair of side walls, and wherein the blades arranged within the grooves extend beyond the side walls thereof. The handle has a plurality of bubble levels therein. The blade may have a straight outer scraping edge thereon. The blade may also have in a further embodiment thereof, a non-straight outer scraping edge thereon. Each of the blades may be biased by a releasable locking means in the grooves. Adjacent blades are preferably arranged at an angle of between 30 to 60 degrees with respect to one another.

The invention thus also comprises a method of preparing a rough foam-sprayed wall surface for trimming by creating orthogonally arranged locii grooves thereon down to a proper planar level for subsequent motorized planing to an overall flat configuration. The method comprises one or more of the following steps of: arranging an elongated rasp tool with a plurality of spaced-apart blades extending from a common work-facing surface thereon; moving the tool in a longitudinally directed back-and-forth motion against the rough spray foam to form a first channel to a desired proper depth; and then moving the tool in a longitudinal back-and-forth motion against the rough spray foam to form a second channel at about a 90 degree angle with respect to the first channel to the desired proper depth, thus forming a pattern of a base groove grid formation from which one may properly plane the foam sprayed wall flat and plum.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent, when viewed in conjunction with the following drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an elongated rasp tool constructed according to the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a portion of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view taken along the lines 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are side elevational views of various blade embodiments for the rasp tool of the present invent;

FIG. 3 is a view taken along the lines 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a wall of a building showing the sheathing thereon, a layer of raw spray foam before it is planed, and a representative cutout in the surface or face of that spray foam as would be accomplished by the tool of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings in detail, and particularly to FIG. 1A and FIG. 1 where there is shown the present invention which comprises a stucco smoothening and base-line forming groove-cutting rasp tool or cutter arrangement 10 for forming in rough stucco walls a ‘plum’ vertical groove and/or horizontal groove 36, those grooves 36 being shown as exemplified in FIG. 4, prior to subsequent removal of excess spray foam material “M”. The proper level 37 is defined as the base of intersecting horizontal and plum vertical grooves 36, from the sidewall/edge of a building “B”, by a planing tool such as shown for example, in my U.S. Pat. No. 6,354,009, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Such sidewall material “M” is, for example, a spray foam of stucco type material.

The rasp tool 10 of the present invention in one preferred embodiment thereof, is comprised of an elongated handle 12 preferably of extruded aluminum having for example, a longitudinal length of about six to about seven feet, leaving enough room for the longitudinal back and forth movement of the tool 10 within an average area of a wall being treated (i.e. 8′×10′). The elongated extruded handle 12 has a longitudinal axis “L” extending therethrough, as represented in FIGS. 1 and 1A. The rasp tool 10 preferably has an elongated, planar, work-facing surface 14 onto which a plurality of angularly disposed, spaced-apart, preferably non-parallel grooves 16 are arranged, as shown in FIGS. 1, 1A, 2 and 3. Each of those grooves 16 are adapted to slidably yet securably receive a scraping blade 18 therewithin. Adjacent grooves 16 are preferably disposed at an angle “X” of between 95 to 120 degrees with respect to the longitudinal axis “L” of the rasp tool 10 and an adjacent blade 18 in a complimentary angle “Y” is disposed at an angle of between 60-85 degrees with that longitudinal axis “L”, as best represented in FIG. 1.

The cross-section of the tool 10 in the figures is represented as rectangular, but maybe of “T” shape in cross-section, still providing the blade supporting work-facing surface 14 and hand gripping capabilities. Other cross-sectional shapes, such as for example, triangular, always providing a planner blade supporting surface with grooves for the blades 18 are within the scope of this invention.

Each blade 18, in one preferred embodiment, is frictionally gripped within its groove 16. Each blade 18 is at least about 1″ or so long and preferably has an overhang 20 beyond each side edge/face 22 and 24 of the rasp tool 10, as is presented in FIG. 3. Such overhang or extension of each blade may be less than about one quarter of an inch.

In the first embodiment of each respective blade 18, the shape of the blade 18 in a side view would be shown in a rectangular configuration, as represented in FIG. 2A, and FIG. 3. That is, the blade 18 has a sharp, straight razor edge 30, which would be along its distalmost edge. The blade may have a securement edge 32 to facilitate securement into the grooves 16. Such a cut 36 by a blade 18 into a spray foam buildup “M” is represented in FIG. 4. A further example of that blade 18′ which includes its distalmost edge in a semicircular configuration 34, is shown in FIG. 2B so as to cut out a somewhat semicircular path in cross-section when used in a longitudinally directed cut in raw spray foam “M”. A still further embodiment of the distal cutting edge of a blade for the present rasp tool invention, will comprise a cutting edge of a corner shape, not shown for clarity of the figures, so as to cut a V-shaped channel in a spray foam pattern on a sidewall of a building.

The rasp tool 10 of the present invention have a may plurality of bubble levels 40 arranged thereon, as shown in FIG. 2. Such a bubble level arrangement in one configuration be in parallel alignment with the longitudinal axis of the rasp tool, another bubble would be in transverse alignment with respect to the longitudinal axis of the rasp tool, and a further bubble level would be arranged at an angle between 30 and 60 degrees with respect to the longitudinal axis of the rasp tool.

Such a rasp tool 10 of the present invention is particularly useful for clearing away rough foam spray “M” from the edges of doors and windows and creating orthogonally placed grooves in large planar areas of a building. The average area to be planed would preferably be about approximately 8′×10′. Such a first embodiment of the rasp tool would cut a square shaped groove or channel 36 in the rough stucco foam “M” when the rasp tool 10 is moved vertically, as would be the case initially, as represented in FIG. 4. When the raw spray foam is placed adjacent a window frame or doorframe or the like, the overhanging blades permit a clean cut right up to that frame edge.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, an elongated shaft 44 may be arranged within a central elongated opening 46 of the rasp tool 10. That elongated shaft 44 may be spring biased in one direction, the shaft 44 having a plurality of tabs 46 thereon so as to snugly engage each respective blade 18 in place and hold it secure thereto. When changing a blade 18, the spring biased shaft 44 may be shifted longitudinally so as to release the pressure on each respective blade 18 from the respective blade biasing tabs 46, to permit each dulled blade 18 to be slid out of its respective groove 46 and replaced with a new blade 18.

The rasp 10 thus provides a tool for establishing a base grid in a rough spray foam surface for subsequent removal of large areas of that foam down to the grid in an even, flat and uniform manner. 

1. An elongated spray-foam-working hand-manipulable rasp tool for the base-line groove forming and flattening of a rough spray of wall covering foam material, comprising: an elongated, extruded handle having an elongated, work-facing, planar surface, said elongated handle having a longitudinal axis; a plurality of blade receiving grooves arranged in a spaced-apart pattern in said work-facing planar surface; and a scraping blade arranged in each of said receiving grooves to permit a rough coat of spray foam on a building to be scraped into a planar groove for subsequent surface planing.
 2. The spray foam rasp tool as recited in claim 1, wherein said adjacent blade receiving grooves are non-parallel to one another.
 3. The spray foam rasp tool as recited in claim 1, wherein every other of said blade receiving grooves are parallel to one another.
 4. The spray foam rasp tool as recited in claim 2, wherein said grooves are arranged at an angle of between 95 to 120 degrees with respect to said longitudinal axis of said handle.
 5. The spray foam rasp tool as recited in claim 1, wherein said handle has a pair of side edges, and wherein said blades arranged within said grooves extend beyond said side edges of said handle.
 6. The spray foam rasp tool as recited in claim 1, wherein said handle has a plurality of bubble levels therein.
 7. The spray foam rasp tool as recited in claim 1, wherein said blade has a straight outer scraping edge thereon.
 8. The spray foam rasp tool as recited in claim 1, wherein said blade has a non-straight outer scraping edge thereon.
 9. The spray foam rasp tool as recited in claim 1, wherein each of said blades is biased by a releasable locking means in said grooves.
 10. The spray foam rasp tool as recited in claim 1, wherein any adjacent blades are arranged at an angle of between 30 to 60 degrees with respect to one another.
 11. A method of preparing a rough foam-sprayed wall for trimming said wall down to a proper planar level for subsequent planing to an overall flat configuration, comprising: arranging an elongated rasp tool handle with a plurality of blades extending from a work-facing surface thereon; moving said tool in a longitudinally directed back-and-forth motion against said rough spray foam to form a first channel to a desired proper depth; and moving said tool in a longitudinal back-and-forth motion against said rough spray foam to form a second channel at about a 90 degree angle with respect to said first channel to said desired proper depth, thus forming a grid pattern of base grooves from which one may properly plane said foam sprayed wall flat and plum.
 12. The method as recited in claim 11, including: forming said first channel as a vertically disposed channel cut.
 13. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein adjacent said blades are non-parallel to one another.
 14. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein said blades extend beyond side edges of said tool. 